Black Market for Concert Tickets Resurfaces
Recently, Jay Chou’s concert at Taipei Arena caused a frenzy among fans, with tickets selling out within 15 minutes. Unable to purchase tickets, disappointed fans turned to the black market, where tickets were being sold at prices more than ten times the original price.
Concerns about scalpers resurfaced the next day when tickets for Lisa’s fan meeting went on sale. While Taiwan’s current regulations encourage real-name ticket sales, the lack of enforcement and a stringent reporting mechanism has made it difficult to address the issue. Members of parliament from both the ruling and opposition parties have once again called on the Ministry of Culture to strengthen control over scalpers and emphasized the need for more concrete measures to combat their activities.
Wang Zhiqing, a technology expert from LeadBest Digital, which has been assisting domestic and international ticketing platforms with blockchain technology, expressed his views through social media. He stated, “Relying solely on legislative amendments or fines may be time-consuming. The effective solution to curb scalping lies in the innovative application of digital technology.”
Wang emphasized that scalping has been a longstanding problem in the Taiwanese market and that effective control should be achieved through technological means.
How does the ERC-7439 smart contract protocol become a solution?
Wang explained, “The characteristics of blockchain ticketing include decentralized computation, transparency, and the absence of overselling issues. ERC-7439, in particular, allows the setting of whether secondary markets can resell tickets, the creation of whitelists for secondary market resales, and the implementation of management rules based on demand.”
LeadBest proposed the ERC-7439 smart contract protocol for ticket reselling at the end of 2022, and it has been adopted as a global standard by the Ethereum Foundation. This technology enables the establishment of transparent and public rules in ticket transactions, effectively blocking scalpers and safeguarding both consumer rights and ticketing platform interests. Similar ticketing technologies have been successfully implemented at this year’s WebX, the largest blockchain summit in Tokyo, Japan.
The scalping issue is not something that can be resolved overnight, and the government has long struggled to find a solution due to the vague legal framework. This has exacerbated the problem, leading to public outrage whenever popular events are involved. The LeadBest team urges the government to swiftly adopt digital applications, integrate blockchain technology into ticketing management, and establish a comprehensive regulatory mechanism that combines legal norms and technological innovation. This will truly protect consumer rights, promote fair competition, and contribute to the healthy development of the entertainment industry.